I’ve sold some losers, and added some winners, also adding to some existing winning positions.

I expect the spreadsheet to show some real changes by the end of August and hope to be issuing regular blog post updates before the end of September.

Sorry for the delays.

I’m trying to stay active on Stocktwits, and a little bit on Twitter although I can’t stand the politics of hate that perpetrate the twitterverse. That’s one of the reasons I no longer book my face (because I can’t face my book).

I really wish Twitter was invented by an Englishman because he could have named it Twatter and everyone could twat about their daily twattlings. News headlines would then blurt out “Trump Twats…” and it would fit right in with his twatting about. Stocktwits would then be called Stocktwats and the pumpers and dumpers would then be rightfully named Stocktwatters.

I use Google spreadsheets for my holdings and to record dividends. They are as up-to-date as I can manage, but will lag by a day or so due to delays in the cost basis reporting from the brokerages. The share prices should update close to real-time, however, with a possible slight delay (~20 minutes) from Google. Also, there now appears to be a very real existential threat to these spreadsheets; Google has “updated” the Finance portion of their website, and all financial functions ceased functioning on the Google sheets recently. It has since started functioning again. I may stop using these sheets altogether, but they are still there. For now…

Here’s an update: The pricing updates for QQQX has failed once again in yet another area of the spreadsheet. Thanks, Google! NOT!!!

NOTE:(Google will soon discontinue some parts of Google Finance, so there is an existential threat to my Google spreadsheets. They have given no warning, only that some of it will stop working “to enhance the user experience”. Assholes!)

From the Silver Lining Dept.:Since I use the TDM dividend and Investment Tracking Software, I don’t worry about Google’s asinine decisions anymore. This TDM software pulls all the dates and dividend amounts into the program automatically so all I need to do is input any buys and sells and the dividends are calculated automatically for me! I can pull up the ex-dividend list and it even shows ones in the past month I may have missed on my sheets and calendar. Mostly, though, I just use it now to forecast a week ahead for the ex-dividend dates, and subsequently the dividend amounts. The program will forecast several months into the future, based on historical amounts, but I’m only concerned with what I have earned (ex-dividend dates and amounts) and what I will receive (dividend projections) for the next 7 days (or 14 days, or 21 days, or 28 days, etc.) Also, I can select only what has been declared and omit the historical guess that the program makes, even though they’re pretty damned accurate.

It should be noted that the sources Dustin uses to get dividend information has changed a few times recently but he has quickly responded with updates.

On my Google spreadsheets, you can find portfolio holdings, dividend amounts, dates (dividend pay dates, record dates, declaration dates, dividend amounts, ex-dividend dates, etc.). I have moved the cash and withdrawal amounts to the Google spreadsheets as well as the dividends spreadsheet. I will still post screenshots on the Dividends Received page. I have recently added most of the CEF NAV values that I could find, and a column to show amount of premium/discount.

This series of blog posts is issued `weekly, but since the majority of our holdings pay dividends near the end and/or beginning of the month it may not always warrant a publishing blitz. There are usually 6 posts in the series when posted. The sharebuilder updates are issued roughly twice a month. The withdrawal update is issued monthly. I think you should try to catch all 6, plus the monthly withdrawal update if you’re so inclined. Occasionally I’ll throw something else up for ridicule or admiration like my recent final posting about “Profiting from Preferreds”, so feel free to be entertained!

Of course, if something major happens I might be tempted to throw something up about that. Or not. Like the recession, depression, World War III, or whatever…

(NOTE:I have finally transferred our holdings from Fidelity and Capital One Investing to Merrill Edge that began in mid-March, 2018. That transfer is finally complete for the most part. I am waiting for some cost basis to be transferred over although I fully expect it will never happen, and some cash totaling $0.73(!) from our Roth IRAs was just transferred this past Tuesday, June 19.

NOTE: This post might be graphic-intensive, so might take a while to load on a mobile device.

NOTE: Reconciliation is currently in progress for all portfolios in TDM, so slight discrepancies may appear.

NOTE: I absolutely love this program! Do yourself a favor and download it now. Give it a go for the 45-day free trial. If you like it, pay for it. If not, then don’t pay. Smiple! 😉 I am finding it more and more indispensable! Don’t be afraid to report bugs to the author, he can’t fix them if he doesn’t know about them. I’ve asked for enhancements, and he has added some of them. He usually responds within a day!

It’s different from my spreadsheet, and a lot less work for me. The TDM software gets the dividend dates, ex-dividend dates, etc. It then calculates the expected dividends, and is often closer to actual dividends received than my spreadsheet! So, I just post the screenshots here each week to let you all have a look at what the software is doing for me as far as recording stock buys & sells, dividends, etc.

I will set up the Merrill Edge accounts to DRIP dividends since there is a possibility I might be getting a discount. I love discounts! I love dividends! Discounted dividend stock sends me into a slight euphoria! (Not now, but maybe later…)

So, first I look at the accounts;

This window pops up if you have more than one account and click the account name in the lower left corner. You can also set the location for the program data here.

For this post, I am going to look at the portfolio view(s) for each account, and we’ll take it from the top, so first on the list is IRAP and then we’ll continue down the list one by one. I’ll also post the dividend calendar and upcoming DRIPs, if any, for each account.

So, I decided I should probably post about my #PLAN for the foreseeable future. A lot of people ask about my investment theses, so that seems to justify this post. Let’s see if I can even begin to support that statement.

These are the current and upcoming declared dividend pay dates and amount(s) expected from each stock (usually projected on the ex-dividend date, or after market close the prior trading day).

These amounts are a compilation from all of our accounts, so some is taxable, some is tax-deferred, but most is tax-free. If you check out my Expected dividend spreadsheets you can see how it all breaks down, or you could just read my posts and look at the screenshots (ooooh, pretty pictures!).

The table, charts, and dial of monthly dividends since inception as found on my Dividends Received page on my blog follows;